1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical circuits, and more particularly but not exclusively to voltage regulators.
2. Description of the Background Art
A voltage regulator generates a regulated output voltage VOUT from an input voltage VIN. Ideally, the voltage regulator maintains the output voltage VOUT within regulation despite varying load current. However, this is not always the case in real world conditions. One instance is when the load current is varying at high slew rates and high repetition rates, which may be as much as 1000 A/μs slew rate and up to 1 MHz repetition rate. For example, a microprocessor waking out of “sleep” mode may activate a large number of dormant circuits, resulting in a large step change in load current within a relatively short period of time. As another example, the current drawn by a microprocessor may toggle at high repetition rates when running video games. In these cases, the regulator may not be able to respond fast enough to maintain the output voltage VOUT within regulation.
The present disclosure pertains to techniques for improving a voltage regulator's transient response to load current with high slew rates and, in particular but not exclusively, with high repetition rates.